NATA News

The Aircraft Maintenance and Systems Technology Committee engaged in a productive conversation with Mr. Tim Shaver, Deputy Director of Standards, Flight Standard Service, and in an introductory phone call with Mr. Jackie Black, Manager, Aircraft Maintenance Division. Mr. Shaver provided the members with an update on the implementation of the Future of Flight Standards and Mr. Black discussed the status of the Aircraft Maintenance Division. The committee followed up with the status of the aircraft conformity check. The committee also named Ms. Shelley Ewalt as new Chair and Mr. Phil Sterns as Vice Chair.

Airport Business Committee

NATA hosted its final Advanced Line Service Workshop of the year last week at Base Operations at Page Field in Fort Myers, FL. The two-day event included sessions on Motivation and Leadership techniques as well as Customer Service training and several other topics. Guest speaker Tim Lewis with GT3 Consulting led a session on Human Factors in aviation ground handling, while John Leonard of Peco-Facet, and Reed Fuller of World Fuel Services covered aviation fuel filtration and quality control. Lee County Health and Safety also provided hands on fire-extinguisher training for the event. NATA would like to thank their guest speakers as well as all the staff at Base Operations for making this such a successful event.

NATA will soon call for nominations to acknowledge the individuals, offices and organizations demonstrating excellence in the general aviation community. Each year, NATA presents awards to the exceptional individuals and companies that have helped to improve the general aviation community. The recipients of the Industry Excellence Awards are chosen based upon NATA member-submitted nominations. The Aviation Maintenance Technician Employer Award program is open to any full-time aircraft and/or components maintenance or repair business or other entity that conducts aviation maintenance and supports aviation maintenance technician (AMT) training. Stay tuned for more information or contact Karissa Uko at kuko@nata.aero.

NATA Compliance Service is offering a series of short webinars on everything related to Anti-Drug and Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programs, allowing attendees to focus their time on topics they need a refresher on and that interest them the most. There’s still time to register for three of the webinars.

Mini Series Dates & Times

Tuesday, November 21, 2017 @ 12:00PM Eastern

Random selection process ~ 15-20 minutes

Thursday, November 30, 2017 @ 4:00PM Eastern

Return-to-duty and positive test result process ~ 15-20 minutes

Tuesday, December 5, 2017 @ 11:00AM Eastern

FAA inspection items and audit preparation ~ 30 minutes

Save the date for NATA’s 2018 Aviation Business Conference. Next year’s conference will take place June 12-14 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in D.C. Mark your calendar and look for upcoming registration details!

West Star Aviation announced its acquisition of MSP Aero LLC, a Minneapolis-based company working with avionics, interiors, minor paint and window restoration at KMSP and surrounding areas. "Our relationship with MSP Aero will provide us with a presence throughout the Twin Cities, as well as the Greater Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas areas. MSP Aero will help refine and support our customers' flight departments and strengthen our geographical network for MRO services," said Rodger Renaud, President and Chief Operating Officer, West Star Aviation. MSP Aero will continue to operate under its unique brand while providing support to current and future West Star Aviation customers. MSP Aero LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of West Star Aviation, LLC.

Minnesota’s Premier Jet Center (PJC) has been named as an authorized Pilatus service center by KCAC Aviation. PJC can now offer authorized Pilatus support throughout KCAC’s Pilatus aircraft sales territory including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Jim Sweeney, President of Premier Jet Center, commented, “Our Minneapolis-based service center provides a talented team that’s excited to begin serving the Pilatus family throughout the territory.” Read more.

Register now for the 2018 Air Charter Safety Foundation Safety Symposium at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, VA. The event takes place March 13-14, 2018. The Symposium is the annual gathering of the air charter and business aviation industry where current and emerging safety challenges are reviewed and discussed. Next year’s theme is "Promoting the Highest Levels of Aviation Safety.” For more information, please click here.